Practitioner record · Checked 7 Oct 2026

Abani Dhewajoo has been in practice 6 years and is licensed in Illinois. Abani lists stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and anger management among 16 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.

Everything below is either quoted from Abani's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.

6years in practice
16subjects listed
8approaches listed

01 · Who Abani works with

Abani works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and anger management

Abani lists 5 specialisms and 11 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Abani chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

Specialisms
  • Stress, Anxiety
  • Trauma and abuse
  • Anger management
  • Self esteem
  • Coping with life changes
Also experienced with
  • Adoption and foster care
  • Communication problems
  • Domestic violence
  • Family problems
  • Guilt and shame
  • Impulsivity
  • Life purpose
  • Multicultural concerns
  • Pregnancy and childbirth
  • Self-love
  • Women's issues

02 · In Abani's own words

What Abani says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I have been working as a professional social worker for the past 13 years and I am licensed in Illinois with 6 years of experience as a therapist. I have experience in helping clients with stress, anxiety, trauma, abuse, anger management, motivation, self esteem, & confidence. I also have experience working with coping with life changes.

My therapy style is warm and interactive and I use strength based perspective. I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion, and I don't believe in stigmatizing labels. My approach combines cognitive-behavioral, dialectic-behavior, humanistic and psychodynamic therapy. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs.

I believe that you are the expert of your story and that you have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming things that challenge you. Taking the first step to seeking a more fulfilling and happier life takes courage. I am here to support you in that process.

Abani Dhewajoo, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Oct 2026

03 · How Abani works

The 8 approaches Abani lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Abani lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Abani's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Abani runs a session.

Attachment-Based Therapy
Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.
Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian
The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.
Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT
Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.
Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT
A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.
Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT
Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.
Motivational InterviewingMI
A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.
Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed
CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Abani practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Abani's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

  1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

    BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Abani at this point.

  2. Naming Abani specifically

    BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Abani is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Abani.

  3. If the caseload is full

    You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

  4. The first conversation

    A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

  5. If the fit is wrong

    Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

3 questions worth asking Abani

Built from what Abani actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Abani's - Abani has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

  • “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Attachment-Based Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

    Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

  • “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

    Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

  • “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

    On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential
LCSW
Licensed in
Illinois
Licence
IL LCSW 149026729
Licence number
149026729
Licence expires
30 Nov 2027
NPI
1801604210
Years in practice
6
Gender
Female
Languages
English
International clients
Not accepted
Listed since
9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Abani's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 7 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Abani. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

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